The Colors of this Town
by ZoeTsunami
Summary: L hears of incidents relating to a certain "slasher" in Ikebukuro and decides to investigate the case - after all, could it have something to do with HIM..? No criminal shall go unpunished once L takes up his case. But maybe... just maybe, this case might be different. It might be more than L ever expected, or wanted to believe... NO YAOI
1. Prologue

**Crossover fiction: Death Note & Durarara!**

**The Color of this Town  
**

**Prologue  
**

The great detective L was sitting on the floor in front of his laptop in his usual awkward position and was absent-mindedly chewing on the tip of his thumb while staring at the screen. On it, before a simple white background, was the large black letter "W" and from the loudspeakers came the slightly modified voice of his agent, Watari.

"…many consecutive incidents following closely up to one another in Ikebukuro in the past few days. People have been calling it 'the slasher'. The police have found no leads as of yet."

L remained in his thoughtful silence for a moment before wondering aloud:

"Could it have something to do with his disappearance?"

Watari paused before asking: "Are you going to investigate this case?"

"Of course," he answered matter-of-factly. "No criminal evades justice once I take up his case. I won't let this 'slasher' get away. Especially not since it could have something to do with _him_."

He fell silent again, then added as an afterthought: "I guess I have to find myself an agent to take up the investigation in my place – someone who can act as my eyes and ears, who can move around freely and talk to people out in the open. In this case I want someone who can defend themselves if necessary. Do you have any recommendations, Watari?"

* * *

In his room, the informant Izaya Orihara was spinning in his chair, laughing.

"Humans are so interesting! I wonder how this will continue!"

The only other person in the room, a young woman who was busy sorting books into one of the many bookshelves lining the wall, barely reacted to Izaya's strange behavior – she merely rolled her eyes as if to say: "Great, and now what?"

"…you see", Izaya was saying – it was unclear whether he was talking to her or to nobody in particular – "humans always do what you least expect them to. They act impulsively, and that's what makes them so incredibly interesting! I love humans, I really do – that's why I love my job!"

He abruptly stopped spinning in his chair and reached for the keyboard of his computer.

"Although sometimes – in order to make things even more interesting" – he said, as he started to type – "you have to give them incentives to act upon. I think I'll just stir things up a little bit more. Ah, humans are so entertaining!

* * *

**Hey there, everyone! **

**Here is my new fiction (WHAAAT? ANOTHER NEW FICTION? - Yes. I apologize.) - this time it's a Crossover fiction between two awesome series: The all-time-favorite, DEATH NOTE, and a series whose brilliance I only just realized and which I just recently finished: DURARARA!  
**

**So, there you have it, this is the prologue. Unlike my other Death Note fiction, this fiction will focus on L - it takes place BEFORE Light found the Death Note started going berserk on the world - L is the world's best detective, and everything's fine. That is... well... until Durarara! happened xD  
**

**But just wait and see, I have loads of ideas for this one :D Trust me, it's gonna be fun! xD  
**

**Anyway, I'd love to hear your opinion - this fiction was born out of a suggestion of a friend, actually, after hearing her complain that there aren't many Death Note and Durarara! Crossovers even though there are lovely opportunities here. Well, then, I hope I won't dissappoint you!  
**

**Please tell me what you think of the idea so far xD  
**

**~ZoeTsunami~  
**


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Naomi Misora was annoyed.

She was normally not a person who showed her emotions in every possible way, especially not when she was walking down a street in public, but now she was so annoyed that she couldn't help it. It showed plainly in the expression on her face and in the way she walked.

People were avoiding her, hastily moving out of her way as she neared, possibly intimidated by her angry aura.

It was all she could do to stop herself from swearing under her breath – things were really not going her way at the moment.

She was on her way home from work, after just having had a heated discussion – if not a fight – with her superior, as a result of which she had been suspended from her work as an agent for a month.

She was still fuming about it, because in her opinion it was not she who had been in the wrong.

But it was too late now, there was nothing she could do about it anymore. She had been forced to turn in her FBI-ID for this month, and, of course, her gun as well.

And now she was walking down the road, an angry frown still framing her face – anger at the fact that there was nothing at all she could change about her situation.

She was still annoyed when she arrived at her own doorstep and pulled out her keys – and dropped them.

Cursing, she bent to pick them up – and at the same moment her phone started ringing inside her bag.

She cursed again, straightening up and sticking the key into the lock before beginning to rummage in her bag for the beeping, vibrating phone.

However, this didn't seem to be one of her better days – she couldn't find it fast enough, and by the time she had pulled it out it had stopped ringing.

'One call during absence', it read – 'One call from _anonymous_'.

"Ah, dammit. I _love_ when people hide their number so I can't call them back. That makes my life so much easier."

Ranting on about how later on they'd hate her for 'not getting back to them about that call from earlier' and throwing in heavy sarcasm she entered the building – not without dropping her keys a second time.

Softly cursing because she couldn't help it anymore, she began mounting the stairs and almost collided with the woman from two flats below her own, who was carrying her two year old child in her arms and looked appalled as she heard the words Naomi was muttering under her breath. She seemed to be seriously considering covering her son's ears to prevent him from hearing.

Naomi, after somehow avoiding collision and nearly dropping her bag in the process, straightened back up and continued her ascent, only to trip and nearly fall as her phone rang again.

She felt like slapping herself for dropping it back into her bag earlier instead of keeping it in her reach in case the anonymous caller from before decided to try her again.

She stopped in the middle of the third flight of stairs, she found her phone just in time, pulling it out, which made the beeping echo loudly through the staircase.

'Incoming call – _anonymous_', her phone read. 'Accept?'

Sighing exasperatedly she clicked the small green button and pressed the phone to her ear.

"Yes?" she asked, in a tone of voice suggesting: '…and what do _you_ want?'

"Is this Naomi Misora speaking?" a cool voice asked. It sounded strangely mechanic.

_Voice modification?_, she wondered, frowning.

"Yes, that's me – but who is this?"

Slowly she reassumed her ascent, tucking her bag back under her arm.

"My name is not really of interest – but you may call me L", the modified voice said. "Are you alone at the moment, or is anyone listening to our conversation?"

Instinctively, before even wondering why she was being asked a question like that, she turned to see if she was being followed.

"I… think so. But – who are you, exactly?"

_L…_, she thought. _I've heard that before, somewhere…_

"I am L. I am a detective. And I require your assistance, Naomi Misora."

It came back to her at that moment – she had heard some other agents speak of L a while back. He had called him the 'world's greatest detective', if she recalled correctly.

Interested and strangely intrigued at the same time, she reached the door to her own apartment on the fourth floor.

Carefully extracting the keys from her bag she unlocked the door with one hand, while into the receiver she said:

"And what, exactly, would this 'assistance' involve?"

"Ah. So you are willing to cooperate, then? Please enter your apartment and switch on your laptop. We shall continue our conversation online, in case your phone has been bugged."

And before Naomi could protest that she wanted to know what she was to do were she to help him before agreeing to anything, there was a quiet clicking noise as her mysterious caller hung up.

"'Bugged'?" she repeated, slightly incredulously. Although, of course, as an agent she had to consider all possibilities.

Then something odd struck her.

_Enter my apartment, he said… almost as if…_

She spun around abruptly to face the empty staircase.

_Am I being watched? How did he know where I was?_

For a second she played with the possibility that he had been watching her the whole time ever since she had left work – or even before that?

Something about that prospect made her feel queasy.

Slowly she pushed open her door and entered her apartment – which, up until that moment, had always felt like home to her, but now suddenly made her uneasy.

Shaking off the feeling she realized that now she didn't really have a choice anymore. He had somehow gotten hold of her phone number, possibly even her address – it might even have been the FBI that revealed this information to him, if he really was what he claimed to be: L, the great detective.

Recalling the stories of L she had heard from her colleagues, she didn't know how much she could expect this guy to be capable of.

So she sighed, leaving her bag on the ground after shutting her door behind her and entering her living room, where she knew she had left her computer the day before.

Briefly she recalled L saying 'laptop' – how did he know? Had he been inside her home?

Even more intrigued, even if she was slightly creeped out at this point, she turned the computer on.

While it was booting she quickly got herself a glass of water, then settled down in front of the screen and waited for the question for her password to pop up.

She quickly typed it in using all ten fingers, and when the screen blinked into life she looked around unsure what to do next. L had not specified what to do when she had turned it on.

She did not have to wait long, however. Only a few seconds passed before a window opened itself, covering the entire screen. It was completely blank except for the large black letter L written across the center.

"Hello, Naomi Misora", said the same mechanical voice from before. "This is L."

She stared for a second, then asked incredulously: "How?"

"That does not matter at the moment. What does matter are the details of the case I am working on, and the assistance I require from you. You see, I am not able to move around freely out in the open, because I run the risk of revealing my identity. That's why for some cases I require help that does not come from my current employers or the police – an independent agent of my own, who can walk around and be my eyes and ears. For the case I am working on now, I require an agent that is currently unemployed."

At this, Naomi's expression changed from surprised and bewildered to outraged. How the _hell_ could he know about this, when it had only happened today? How could he _possibly_ know that she had been suspended for a month a mere one and a half hours ago?

"Due to certain circumstances, I believe you are the only one currently available to me. If you wish, I can discuss this with your superior –"

"No!" she injected indignantly.

The voice fell silent, waiting calmly for her to explain her outburst.

"I mean… wait. How do you know all this, if you haven't talked to my superiors yet?"

"Do you want me to go and verify it with them? If that would make you feel better about it – "

"No! That's not the problem. I want you to explain first how you know so much about me, before I agree to work with you."

It sounded as though the mechanic voice was smirking, or at least grinning.

"I am a detective, Ms. Misora. That's all there is to it. Maybe this has proved my skill to you, and will help convince you to work with me on this case. You see, I really do need your assistance."

_I can see that. Why else would anyone go to all this trouble…?_

She let her thoughts trail off.

"So… I would be… going where, exactly?"

"To Tokyo, Japan. To the Ikebukuro district, to be exact. I can arrange for your flight, and you needn't worry about payment. I gather your parents live in Japan? You could use this as an opportunity to visit them."

She let this one slide, deciding not to ask how he knew she was actually Japanese and her parents lived in Japan. Furthermore, he had said her flight would be paid for.

"And what would I be investigating?"

"Ah, yes. That would be – I don't know whether you've heard – the incidents regarding the so-called 'slasher'. Are you familiar with them?"

Naomi shook her head, then realized he couldn't see her. _Or could he?_

"No, I haven't heard. But I've been pretty busy lately, so it's no wonder. After all, this is an incident in Tokyo, and I am in L.A."

"Of course I will give you a detailed briefing on what I have learned so far regarding this case, so that we are on the same informational ground once you enter the city. After that, I will rely on you to observe primarily, and only to act when necessary. So far we do know of the slasher's previous targets, but there doesn't seem to be a pattern – and we don't know a motive, or the slasher's identity. All this I will find out – with your help, that is."

Naomi stopped to consider the matter.

It wasn't like she had anything better to do at the moment. And L, even though she didn't like to admit it, seemed to know what he was talking about, whoever he was. She decided to look into him more thoroughly later. For now, she concluded, there was nothing wrong with just going there and observing. Besides, it had been a while since she had last seen her parents.

"Well, then… alright. I'll do what I can to assist you", she agreed.

"Good. I look forward to working with you. Now, if you were to look into your mailbox – you will find I have left a cell phone there for you, with a number stored inside it. If you dial it, you will be able to reach me. Only use this for emergencies or very important discoveries. Otherwise, I will call you at regular intervals to check on your progress. Please be available at all times."

"I understand", she said, thinking this was it – but apparently, there was still more to come.

"Your ticket and flight dates along with the address of the hotel you will be staying at will be sent to you shortly. Everything should be clear."

Naomi remembered something she wanted to ask at that moment.

"Ah – I have a question, though, L. Will you be going to Tokyo as well?"

Again it sounded like the man behind the mechanic voice was smiling.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that as of yet. You might figure it out for yourself."

* * *

After finishing his conversation with the agent, L got to his feet from where he had been sitting on the floor, in the same position as usual. He walked over to the wide window framing the suite of the hotel he was staying in. Soft rain had begun to hit the glass lightly, leaving behind small streaks of water that made it increasingly harder to make out anything of the city below.

"Watari", L said, loudly enough for his agent to hear him in the next room.

"Yes?"

"You can arrange for her to join us here in Tokyo in two days' time. Please book the flight for her and then send the ticket to the same address the phone was sent to."

"I will", came the answer.

L turned his attention back down to the lights that were starting to glow down in the streets, far below his suite, blurred by the drizzling rain.

"I wonder", he muttered to himself. "Is he really here?"

* * *

**Hey there, everyone :D**

***w00t* so this is the first chapter ^^ I hope you like it! xD**

**Please review and tell me your opinion! Is Naomi OOC? And L? Is this realistic...? Don't hesitate to be blunt, it's those sorts of reviews that help me improve!**


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

L was sitting, once again, on the floor in front of his laptop. This time, however, the symbol on the screen was a large "R" instead of the "W" that indicated his usual conversation partner, Watari.

L's expression was rather serious and a frown crossed his forehead as he asked.

"So you haven't found him yet?"

"No. There have been no leads so far," the voice coming from the speakers responded. "But we know of his… habits, so as soon as we hear of anything that sounds like him, we will act immediately."

L absent-mindedly bit the tip of his thumb, his frown deepening.

"That's good, but not good enough. We can't wait until he starts endangering public safety. We have to find him beforehand."

The voice from the computer hesitated before answering.

"… I understand. We will continue our search."

"Thank you."

The screen went blank, but L didn't stop staring at it, his eyes unfocussed.

"Where would you go?" he muttered to himself. "What is it you're after?"

* * *

Naomi Misora exited the train at the Ikebukuro station, pulling a small black suitcase after her. Her flight had been surprisingly comfortable, and she had had almost no trouble finding the right train to take her to her final destination.

And now she was standing in the busy station, looking around for orientation.

The station was rather crowded, but thankfully she knew enough Japanese to read the signs hanging from the ceiling and found the exit she was looking for rather quickly.

She silently thanked her parents for raising her in Japan for the first 15 years of her life before moving to the States with her, where she had later remained and been promoted to an FBI agent while her parents had returned to her father's homeland. Her mother was American, making her half Japanese and half American.

Shaking away the memories of her childhood, she lowered her gaze to the slip of paper she was holding in her right hand.

L had left her rather precise instructions, as well as the address of the hotel she would be staying in, and enough money to take her there by taxi.

She looked down at the address printed on the paper – it was a region of the city she had never been to before, so she couldn't walk there by herself, and even though she had lived in the city for a long time, she had never heard of this address. But she was not surprised – it was a huge town, after all.

She hailed a cab, handing the driver the slip of paper with the address.

To her surprise the middle-aged man's eyes grew wide when he saw where he was taking her, and he bowed down a little too low for Naomi's liking before taking her suitcase from her and stowing it in the truck. He closed the lid, and then moved to hold the door open for her.

"Thank you," she said in Japanese, inclined her head – still slightly perplexed by the man's extreme reaction to her destination – and got into the cab, settling down in the seat.

The ride took little over 20 minutes, during which she stared out the window of the taxi and took in her first impression of this part of the city.

She already knew Tokyo was a multi-facetted town, but still she found the Ikebukuro district… difficult to describe in one word. If Naomi had had to choose the first word that came to her mind as she watched the streets rush past her, she would have said "colorful".

So many different things caught her eye – on one hand she saw many modern buildings as well as shops with blinking neon lights and bright advertisements flashing at her, these were clearly the newer parts of the district, with large shopping malls and, as far as she could see, long pedestrian zones with no cars allowed.

On the other hand they also passed by some shadier side-alleys where the warm, busy atmosphere changed quickly to a more pressing, uncomfortable one. Small streets with run-down houses and unfriendly-looking buildings, where only few people walked – forming a strong contrast to the busy, buzzing part of the city.

The cab finally stopped in a brightly lit square with many cars and people, in front of a large, expensive-looking hotel.

Naomi's jaw dropped, and she had to admit she now understood why the driver had acted so extremely towards her.

Quickly regaining her composition she paid the driver and thanked him when he retrieved her suitcase.

She looked up one more time at the huge building she was about to enter before starting her ascent of the broad steps towards the glass door, framed by marble columns and two large potted plants.

The doorman nodded to her as she passed him and walked inside.

The lobby was brightly lit and decorated in a fancy manner with countless columns like the ones at the entrance, and a large glass chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

Naomi walked up to the reception desk standing opposite the door. To the left were two elevators, and to the right of the desk was a rather inconspicuous door labeled "staff". The receptionist was a young and pretty brown haired woman who smiled as Naomi approached.

"Can I help you, Miss?"

She nodded. "I have a reservation."

"Are you Miss Naomi Misora, by any chance?" the receptionist asked. Naomi noticed a small nameplate on her shirt that read "A. Yamada"

"Yes, that's me."

The woman nodded. "Your reservation has been made by your employer for two weeks' time – it can be extended or truncated at any time, depending on the duration of your stay."

"…I see. Thank you very much."

The woman smiled and said: "Your employer has paid for your stay in advance. If there is anything you need, you can use the phone in your room to contact the staff. If you could just sit over there for a moment, I'll have someone take care of your luggage and show you upstairs."

She indicated to a small lounge in the corner with several glass tables and comfortable-looking sofas.

Naomi nodded and thanked her again, before walking over to the place the receptionist had shown her and sitting down.

It took less than five minutes until a man wearing a uniform with the logo of the hotel came up to her and offered to take her suitcase and show her her room.

She followed him to the elevators, and was surprised to see him press the button for the 7th floor – the highest floor of the hotel.

L had reserved the penthouse suite for her…?

Incredulously she emerged from the elevator into a wide hallway, which lead up to a single door. The man handed her a zip card which let her open it, and enter the most luxurious room she had ever seen.

It was spacious and grand, with a small shelf for shoes and a couple of coat hangers, and three doors leading off into further rooms. One lead to a spacious bathroom, complete with a large bathtub, a separate shower, a toilet and a big sink in front of an oval mirror. It was built completely from white marble, and the floor was covered in light beige tiles.

The living room behind the second door was about three or four times as big as the first room, and it contained not only a large white leather sofa, a glass table and a flat screen television set, but also a minibar made from granite with several bar stools, and a teak table with white leather chairs.

Next to the bar in the corner of the room was a kitchen with the same granite surfaces, including a stove, and oven, a refrigerator and a dishwasher.

Behind the third door was a bedroom with a wide double bed and a huge wardrobe. Thin white curtains hung before the window, and there was a door leading out onto a balcony with two deckchairs and a small table.

The entire suite was well lit and bright, modern lamps on the ceilings and walls as well as wide windows in every room, looking down into the town below.

Naomi was overwhelmed, taking in the room and barely listening to the man standing beside her.

"…and any other information is written in the flyers on the dining table. In the bedroom there is also a safe for your valuables. If there is anything else you require, you can use the telephone to contact the staff. Please enjoy your stay, Miss Misora."

The man nodded to her and left, closing the door behind him.

She heard the sound of the door clicking as it closed, and an exasperated sigh escaped her.

"L… you have got to be kidding me."

Shaking her head she pulled her suitcase into the bedroom and sank onto the bed's beige sheets, briefly covering her face with her hands.

She breathed deeply to calm herself, then got to her feet and looked around the room. Walking back into the living room she still found the whole situation hard to grasp.

"…_your employer has paid for your stay in advance."_

How far, exactly, did L think he had to go? A suite like this was normally impossible to get, she knew, and even more impossible to pay for. Why was he doing this?

And right on cue, her cellphone began to ring.

She jumped in surprise – and then just shook her head.

"Impeccable timing, as expected…"

Retrieving her phone from her jacket pocket – she had learned from the experience with handbags – she glanced at the display before pressing the small green button and accepting the call.

_Anonymous_ again.

"Hello, Naomi Misora," said the familiar metallic voice. "This is L."

Suppressing a further sigh, she said: "Hello, L."

"How was your trip? I trust you arrived without delay?"

It was still creepy. How did he know she had already arrived?

"…yes. I was just shown to my room."

Before she could go on and continue to ask him why on earth he had gone to such extremes, his tone of voice changed to business.

"That is good to hear. Are you ready to begin the investigation, Miss Misora?"

She hesitated – but then curiosity overcame her. She still only had a vague idea of what her own work would involve, and wanted to know where he would send her first.

"Yes, I am."

"Then listen carefully. I would first like you to go and examine the scenes of the crimes committed prior to this day."

* * *

**Hey there, everyone!**

**Chapter 2 is finally done ^^ I took longer than I expected I would, and I apologize. I'm doing all I can :)  
**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!  
**

**I think I ought to make something clear, though, because one of my readers asked me a question concerning "what is going to happen when L meets Izaya." THIS IS NOT A YAOI FICTION. Okay? ^^ I don't want to disappoint anyone, so I might just tell you beforehand that I don't really plan to have them meet in person. (This could still change, though.) They are, however, going to have conversations.  
**

**That aside I want to thank everyone who alerted this story - I was afraid no one would read a Death Note and Durarara! Crossover - but I'm glad for any support you have given me :D And of course thanks to my lovely reviewers:** _KuroTenshiShiroTenshi_ **and** SleepyNinjaCats**. YOU ARE AWESOME *-*****  
**

**That's it for now. Please read & review & alert (like you've already been doing, obviously :D)!  
**

**~ZoeTsunami~  
**


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